Heywood, John | Maurice Hussey and Surendra Agarwala (essay date 1968)
Maurice Hussey and Surendra Agarwala (essay date 1968)
SOURCE: “Introduction: Old English Comedies,” in The Play of the Weather by John Heywood and Other Tudor Comedies, adapted by Maurice Hussey and Surendra Agarwala, Theatre Art Books, 1968, pp. 1-7.
[In the following essay, Hussey and Agarwala describe important details from Heywood's life and argue that his plays served as a bridge between medieval and Elizabethan drama with their employment of farce, individualized characters, and stylized debate.]
When or where John Heywood was born is not known precisely. The events and the course of his life have to be pieced together from a variety of sources. This fact is surprising in a man who was so distinguished in his lifetime. His life crossed the paths of four monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI, and the Queens Mary and Elizabeth. His talents as a musician and playwright brought him into contact with Renaissance scholars from some of the...
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